Grand Magic Games' stories
by Fleuve d'Etoile
Summary: Unresolved questions about the GMG, involving Crime Sorcière, the Council and, of course, Fairy Tail. Home stretch of the GMG! We are finally about to know who will win, but did future Lucy really tell the truth about the outcome of the games? Note: the characters and the genre may change each chapter. Spoilers for those who don't read the manga. Please R&R!
1. The one who couldn't see her

Grand Magic Games, last day. Crime Sorcière, aware of what will happen with Eclipse and the dragons, are discussing about the best ways to prevent it and trying to understand Lucy's true motives.

**.:: Disclaimer ::.**

I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters. Hiro Mashima does. And even if I try to find out what will happen in the current arc, the theories I use in this story are only suppositions.

* * *

"So, if you think that Lucy is not who she appears to be, why didn't you stop her from meeting with the others? If she's an impostor, she may be dangerous."

Jellal looked into the distance. Meredy was probably right: if his theory about Lucy lying to him is true, the others could be in danger right now. But he was not worried, because they had Natsu. If future Lucy had used the real Lucy's appearance to hide her true motives, when they realize it, he won't let her get away with it.

"I am more worried about what she is hiding, actually. And she didn't seem evil, otherwise I wouldn't have let her go, so whatever the reason, I think it's safe to let her with them for now."

"If you say so..." Meredy said, not so sure about it. "But I can't believe we are just standing here, waiting, while there are chances everybody in this town dies. I already saw what one dragon could do to an entire island, and I'm telling you, if there are thousands of them, there's nothing we can do once they arrive in town."

"I understand your frustation" Ultear said. "But do you really believe we can do something right now? As you said, we're powerless, and I don't think people would leave if we tell them to. It's the Grand Magic Games, the last day, they want to know who is going to win, and three people – three fugitives like us – won't change anything right now. I understand" she repeated, seeing the look on Meredy's face. "I feel the same way. I don't want Gray and the others to die."

Meredy thought about Juvia. She was pretty sure that, if Juvia died, she would haunt her for the rest of her life for not telling her about the dragons, not warning her that she would die before she made out with her Gray-sama. And Meredy didn't need Juvia's creepy ghost to follow her everywhere she went. She sighed.

"Well, I still think this is ridiculous, we are the only ones to know, and we have known there is something fishy during those games for a long time, but still, we are totally useless. I trust Fairy Tail, they have Natsu and two other dragon slayers, and more than that, they have Erza, that monst..."

Jellal raised his head for the first time since the beginning of the conversation.

"That very powerful woman" Meredy quickly said. "As I said, I trust them but how can they do something if they don't even know what is going on?"

"I know. That's why I advised that Lucy to meet with Natsu and the others", Jellal answered. "And I will also do something myself."

"What will you do?" Ultear asked.

"Well..."

**_Two days ago_**

"From the future? And you're saying the town is going to be attacked by ten thousand dragons?"

Jellal couldn't believe his eyes. Lucy, the Lucy that, he was sure about it, was right now resting in the infirmary, was also before his eyes, telling her about events that hadn't even happened yet.

She nodded.

"And... What is going to happen to all of them?"

Lucy knew he wasn't refering to the dragons, nor was he talking about the people of Crocus. "Erza" was the name left unsaid, but she could almost hear it from his mouth. She lowered her head.

"It won't happen", he said, decidedly. "What is your plan, then?"

"I... I don't have one. I don't know what to do. Maybe I just came back because I wanted to live in a world where my friends are still alive, until it happens again. I don't know, I'm useless."

As always, she thought.

"Maybe it is really hopeless" she added, tears in her eyes.

"It isn't."

A voice, coming from within their hearts, just said that.

"Who's there?" Jellal said, preparing to fight. "Oh crap!"

He just remembered he had uncovered his head, which basically meant he had revealed his true identity to anyone who saw them.

"I am right here."

Jellal turned around. A beautiful woman – actually, she looked more like a little angel – was in front of him. She had long blond and wavy hair, deep green eyes, and two little wings coming out of her head. She was looking at him with a serious, yet peaceful expression.

"My name is Mavis. I am Fairy Tail's first master. And from the look on your face, you can see me, which pleases me, because it means that even if you don't have the crest of Fairy Tail on your skin, you bear it in your heart."

This was too much. First, a Lucy from a dreadful future, and now, a ghost from the past?

"What I don't understand, however, is why _she_ doesn't seem to see me."

Mavis turned to face Lucy, who apparently could hear her, but didn't know where the voice came from. Her peaceful look had disappeared.

"I know you're not evil" she said. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to speak in your heart. But what happened in your future so that you ended up not being a member of Fairy Tail anymore?"

Lucy remained silent, and after a glance at Jellal to see where he was looking at, she turned to face the place where Mavis seemed to be standing, and uncovered her right arm.

"That was the price I had to pay to come back."

Jellal looked at her arm in shock, but Mavis didn't blink an eye.

"You gave up on your right hand to use Eclipse" Mavis said. It was not a question, more like a plain statement.

"That's where I had my Fairy Tail crest. I guess traveling to the past needed an important sacrifice" she added bitterly.

The three of them remained silent for a few seconds before Lucy suddenly raised her head.

"It doesn't matter anymore, now is not the time to think about it. Master Mavis, you said it wasn't hopeless, did you have something in mind?"

"I heard what you said earlier. I may have a plan. But you'll need to trust me. Both of you need to" she said turning to Jellal again. "Lucy, it will be difficult, but you mustn't meet with the others, at any cost. I don't know how that magic works, but if the future and the present Lucy meet, it may cause a serious disfunction in the space-time continuum."

"I understand."

She seemed sad but resigned.

"What do you mean?" Jellal asked.

They both looked at him.

"Isn't that the point here? Causing a disfunction in that space-time continuum? We need to change it, her being here has to change something! Lucy, don't act like you mustn't change anything because you're afraid of failing, you coming back here is what will save us!"

"I can't save them."

She smiled sadly.

"Anyway, I never meant to say that she won't do anything" Mavis said. "Even if it seems hopeless, there are people out there that can prevent that future from happening. Those who have the power. And I am not talking about magic, this time. Lucy, I need you to warn the King. He is the only one who can take measures. Please do so as quickly as possible."

Lucy nodded and started to leave.

"Wait" Jellal said and she turned around.

He glanced at Mavis.

"We may not meet again, so I need to tell you this right now: we don't know what might happen if you do so, but I still believe Natsu is our best chance, so if you feel the need to warn him, do it. Even if it means you have to reveal your identity."

Mavis didn't say anything, so Lucy nodded once again and left. As soon as she was out of sight, Jellal faced Mavis. They didn't talk but he knew what she was thinking: if he, who had never been a Fairy Tail member, belonged to the guild enough to be able to see Mavis's ghost, why Lucy, who should still be a member despite her cut hand, couldn't?

"You felt it too, didn't you, Jellal?"

"If you refer to the evil aura that follows her, I decided not to ask her about it. I still have doubts about her but we cannot take the risk to doubt her words."

"Now, I have something to ask you. You have to stay away from the arena, because if we fail and the dragons come, we will need help from outside."

"How can I help if I'm outside?"

"I don't expect _you_ to help. You'll understand in time. Oh, and I almost forgot."

She walked to him and gave him a punch in the stomach.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"You shouldn't have lost against that Jura", she said, an evil smile on her face.

And she disappeared.

* * *

Hello guys ! It's been a long time since I last wrote a fanfiction, and I don't even know if I'll be able to finish this one because I don't know where I'm going... Believe me or not, it was supposed to be a fanfiction about a crackpairing at first ! But I still intend to include that crackpairing next, because I find it really cute, and it will be the first one about them so you'll be quite surprised, I guess ! And no, I won't tell you who that pairing is, maybe you'll find out next chapter...

Oh and about the title of the story, as I said I don't really know where I'm going so it's quite plain... It should be more like "Grand Magic Games' story" or "What I would like to happen in the very interesting current arc which mixes a lot of great characters" - this one may be a little too long - but I'll let it as it is, for now.

Anyway, tell me if you like that first chapter, it was quite long but I enjoyed writing it, so I hope you enjoyed reading it as well ^^

PS : Don't forget the reviews, onegai shimasu!


	2. Piggyback

After meeting with Mavis and future Lucy, Jellal tells his Crime Sorcière fellow members about Mavis's plan, even if he doesn't really know what she has in mind. Meanwhile, Lyon, Gray, Juvia and Shelia are still fighting, both teams trying to figure out how to win their battles, when Gray comes up with a curious strategy...

**.:: Dislaimer ::.**

I unfortunately don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, the battles would be boring and the romance parts would be longer, so I guess it's for the best. Oh, and Hiro Mashima does.

* * *

**_Back to the present day_**

"So that's what you meant?" Meredy said. "We have to wait for someone to come from outside? How is that going to help?"

"I don't know but what other choice do we have? We can trust Fairy Tail's first master. She, more than anyone, wants to save her guild."

"But she told only you to stay there. She never mentionned us."

"Yes, but..."

"She doesn't even know we exist, which means she only needs _your_ help right now. Right, Ultear?"

She turned to face her adoptive mother and smiled. Ultear smiled back.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Hey, you shouldn't..."

"We're sorry, Jellal, but we have to leave you here for now, we can't just sit around and do nothing. Good luck for you mission!"

Jellal sighed. He didn't even try to stop them.

**_Meanwhile, on the battle front_**

"Don't act all lovey-dovey in front of me, Gray!"

"I am not the one acting like that," Gray answered, annoyed.

Lyon was pointing an accusing finger at Gray while Juvia was stuck to him, heart-shaped eyes, forgetting about her battle with Shelia.

"Well, this is awkward..." Shelia said. "Lyon-sama, forget about her, she's insane."

She then attacked her, making her lose her grip on Gray's arm and fall on the ground.

"Ouch!"

"Serves you right, you shouldn't have got your hands on Lyon-sama!"

"For God's sake, I didn't even ask to be loved by him!"

"See, Lyon-sama, she doesn't deserve you!" Shelia said, turning to face Lyon and blushing.

But he didn't hear, already involved in a battle against Gray.

"Ice Make Eagle!"

"Ice Make Shield!" Gray responded. "Geez, this isn't going anywhere! Juvia, are you okay?"

She quickly got up and nodded, focusing on her battle against Shelia. Meanwhile, Gray and Lyon were still fighting without anyone of them getting the upper hand.

"This is annoying."

They both stopped, looking at Shelia slowly getting more and more tired, even if she could regularly heal her wounds.

"How come is she so strong?" Lyon asked, admirative. "Shelia can heal her own wounds, how can she be losing against my dear Juvia?"

"Well," Gray said with a smile. "Juvia doesn't feel the pain, her body is made of water. She doesn't get wounded."

Lyon looked at her and smiled as well.

"She's definitely the one for me."

Gray sighed. He was getting tired of all that situation.

"I'm sorry, but we won't let you have her," he said, still looking at her.

"That's what you think."

Lyon released a different attack, with a bigger amount of magic than before, making an ice tiger appear. Gray was already prepared, but didn't have the time to dodge the attack, because Juvia had appeared between him and the tiger.

"Juvia!" Lyon and Gray both shouted.

The tiger disappeared.

"Lyon-sama, why did you make it disappear, you could have had both of them!"

"But I can't hurt her! She's my future wife..."

Gray rolled his eyes and was going to prepare to fight again, but something stopped him.

"Juvia?"

"Yes, Gray-sama?"

He was smiling, and Juvia nearly fainted.

"I have an idea."

* * *

"So, Meredy, you didn't tell me what you intended to do exactly."

Ultear and Meredy were running inside the city, using narrow streets to be out of sight from the many lachrymas that were installed to follow the games. They had put hoods on so that no one would recognize them.

"I don't really know where to go, the contestants are all scattered in the town. I wanted to warn those who know about Crime Sorcière, maybe Fairy Tail's master. Mavis probably told him but we can't be sure about it. And we don't even know if Natsu and the others will manage to get out of the King's palace, so I guess the best we could do is go and help them first."

"Are you crazy? I don't even see the point of hiding ourselves if we just go ahead and enter that castle, where half the guards of the kingdom – if not more – are protecting the place."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I said that you're crazy, but I am also pretty insane myself. Let's go to that castle."

Meredy smiled.

"What the..."

"What's wrong, Ul?"

They were at the end of a back alley, about to take another way once they checked there was no one around, when Ultear suddenly stopped.

"Is there someone? Are those competitors fighting?"

Meredy looked over Ultear's shoulder and what she saw left her dumbfounded.

"This is..."

"Gray, this is playing dirty!" Lyon said angrily.

"No, this is taking advantage of the situation!"

"Let her go, I'm telling you..."

"Even if I wanted she wouldn't let me."

What was happening in front of Ultear and Meredy made them totally forget about the Eclipse plan, future Lucy and the ten thousand dragons. Because right before their eyes were Gray and Juvia both fighting against Shelia while Lyon was behind them, standing and doing nothing but yelling at Gray.

And Gray was carrying Juvia on his back.

"This is cheating! Juvia is not a shield, you can't use her like that!"

"I don't feel like I'm forcing her anyways..."

Juvia was indeed ecstatic, even if she still fought seriously. Gray and her were both against Shelia, and Lyon apparently didn't want to attack them. Whenever he moved, Gray moved as well, so that he didn't expose any part of his body to Lyon, who could only see Juvia on his back.

"Put her down, I can see her... panties..." he said, his face turning crimson red. "Oh crap, I can't let you do this! Ice make eagle!"

The ice eagles coming from behind Gray bypassed him to face him.

"Juvia! The front!"

"Oh Gray-sama, whatever you want," she said, preparing to move while Gray was about to carry her, princess-style.

But Lyon made the ice eagles disappear before they could do anything.

"What should we do, Ul..."

Ultear looked at Meredy. They were still hiding and for a second, she considered leaving and making as if they never saw that scene. But now that she had found Gray, she couldn't just leave without warning them about the danger. She decided to talk to them through telepathy, like she does with Jellal.

"Gray, Juvia, it's Ultear."

Gray and Juvia stopped.

"We have a serious problem, and we need to take action right now. Will you hear me?"

"Where are you?" Gray asked, looking around. "Are you here? Don't move," he added after a second. "They put vision lachryma everywhere."

"Is Mer... Is your daughter with you?"

"What is happening?" Shelia asked. "Why did you stop fighting?"

Lyon was looking around as well, understanding someone was talking to Gray and Juvia even if he couldn't hear it.

"Who's there?" he asked. "If you don't reveal yourself, we will..."

"Cut it, Lyon," Gray whispered. "They're not enemies."

Gray gave him a knowing look, and Lyon decided to trust him.

"This looks too suspicious," Meredy said. "Ultear, tell them to keep fighting."

But before Ultear could say anything, Lyon talked out loud.

"We surrender, no one will win during this battle, our strengths are on par. We'll leave and try to defeat the others from Fairy Tail and Sabertooth. We'll let Jura crush you," he added with a smirk.

Gray winced.

"What? What do you mean, Lyon-sama!"

"Hopefully, with this, they'll stop showing our fight with lachryma vision," Lyon whispered.

After a little while, Ultear and Meredy decided it was okay to show themselves, but they didn't uncover their heads. Lyon and Shelia looked at them suspiciously.

"What happened?"

"As I said, the situation is quite serious, we'll need your help. We have some reasons to believe that Natsu and the others are still trapped in Mercurius. But there's something worse."

"What do you mean? And, wait, they couldn't rescue Lucy and the other Celestial mage?"

Ultear told them about everything they knew from Jellal and from what they saw thanks to her crystal ball.

"This is stupid," Lyon said. "I don't even know you, how could I believe it when you say that someone you know told you about a future apocalypse he heard from someone else, someone he doesn't even trust?"

Ultear hit him.

"That hurt! The only woman who ever hit me like that was my teacher, Ul...?"

She had unveiled her face.

"If you don't trust me, at least trust your former fellow pupil. I know very well the bond you share with him, even if you don't admit it."

Gray and Lyon both blushed.

"You're... Her daughter? But... That crest, I know which guild you belong to; it's-"

"Crime Sorcière."

They all turned around to see who had talked. In front of them were two mages who were wearing the Magic Council uniform.

* * *

**Hello everybody!**

First of all, I need to say that I wrote that chapter quickly but I still had a lot of fun writing it. However, English isn't my first language so please tell me about the possible mistakes I made here, if you have some advice, and other things to say, don't hesitate!

Also, about the piggyback thing, not sure if it was clearly written, but in short, Gray saw that Lyon didn't want to attack Juvia, so, he decided to take advantage of it, using her as a "shield" he carried on his back, so that he won't be attacked by him from behind, this way, both Gray and Juvia could focus on defeating Shelia. When I got this idea, I couldn't stop laughing, imagining what this scene would look like if it were in the manga, especially Lyon and Juvia's expressions XD And for those who watched the 4th OVA, yes, I got that idea from that Nalu scene!

I said that I would include a crackpairing in the second chapter but it will probably be in the next one. Now, which pairing do you think it will be? I'll give you one hint: as I said, it's a pairing that had never been imagined, at least in this fanfiction website. Imagine who it could be and don't forget to review to tell me which idea you came up with ^^ (I know, I feel like I'm begging for reviews xD )


	3. Nineteenth

Ultear and Meredy run into Gray and Juvia who are fighting against Lyon and Sherry and decide to warn them about the upcoming danger. Thinking they can't be seen once the fight stops, they are discovered by Doranbolt and Lahar, who recognize their crest.

**.:: Diclaimer ::.**

I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does, I just like to imagine weird pairings involving characters who - apparently - don't have anything to do with each other :3

* * *

Doranbolt and Lahar knew there was something weird as soon as Gray and Juvia had stopped fighting. Most of the audience were following Laxus's battle against the lightning mage from Sabertooth and Jura, who were probably the strongest male mages left – except maybe Sting, but this one hadn't made a move for a long time. And Doranbolt and Lahar were more interested in finding the place where Jellal was, so they had decided to keep an eye on Fairy Tail, who was, for some unknown reason, hiding him. They didn't really care about the fights but when Gray carried Juvia on his back, they couldn't really take their eyes off the screen that was showing their battle, wondering if he had gone crazy, forgetting about their mission for a while. But they suddenly stopped, and once the white-haired guy from Lamia Scale withdrew from the fight, they decided to look for them to see what was really going on.

However, they didn't expect them to meet with the second most wanted illegal guild of Fiore.

"This was a stupid idea..." Meredy whispered.

"Meredy, leave," Ultear told her via telepathy. "They only saw my face, not yours."

"There's no way I'll leave without you."

"It's useless anyway," Doranbolt said outloud. "I can hear you when you use telepathy."

Meredy and Ultear froze. Gray was getting prepared to fight, while Shelia obviously had no idea what was going on.

"Before you start fighting, can I say something ?"

Everybody turned to see Lyon, who had just talked. He seemed quite angry.

"Could you, please, tell _him_ to put her down?"

He pointed his finger at Gray, who was still carrying Juvia. He blushed, while Juvia had a bright smile on her face.

"I tried, but she won't let me go."

"It's too comfy..."

Meredy giggled. Juvia unwillingly let him put her down.

"Gray..." Doranbolt said, a sad look on his face.

Gray looked surprised.

"Who are you? Do you know me?"

"I do, but you can't remember me. I was there on Tenrou Island. I infiltrated Fairy Tail, I even fought against you with Wendy, during the exam."

"What do you mean, with Wend..."

Gray tried to remember his fight when he was competing to become an S-class mage. He and Loki had to defeat Wendy during the exam, but there was no one else. He had vaguely thought that having to pass that first step was too easy. Was that guy from the Council really with them?

"You not remembering me isn't surprising, I modified everyone's memory so that you think I'm part of the guild. But as soon as I was discovered, all of you forgot about me, as well as my cover. But it's not important. Right now, what's important is that I am on your side. So please tell me you're not with them," he said, showing Ultear and Meredy, whose face was still hidden. "Because if you are, it means we'll have to fight you."

"We're sorry, Fairy Tail," Lahar said. "But they are dangerous fugitives."

"Nineteenth."

"What?" Doranbolt asked.

"Nineteenth," Meredy repeated. "I remember you. You're the nineteenth."

"How do you... What do you mean, 'nineteenth' ?"

"Don't tell me..." Juvia said, starting to understand.

"You were the nineteenth Fairy Tail member I had to exterminate. Back then on Tenrou Island. I had a specific scheme. The first ones were those I absolutely had to defeat. The last ones were not as important. I, or the other Kins of Purgatory, could easily handle them."

"But..." Gray said. "We were eight contestants, plus their partners, which is sixteen... There were also Master, Gildarts, Erza and Mirajane, which makes twenty. If he's the nineteenth, then he should be easy to defeat, right?"

Doranbolt seemed a little hurt.

"And who was the first one?" Gray asked, curious.

"Gray Fullbuster. I wanted to crush you with my bare hands," Meredy answered casually.

"S... Scary..."

Instinctively, Juvia slightly moved forward, as if to protect Gray. She didn't notice him blush.

"Who was the last one?" she asked.

"The blue cat." Meredy said, smiling.

This time, Doranbolt really looked offended, and Lahar frowned, wondering why his partner had such a reputation.

"I'm in the same category as a blue cat who can't use magic? I'm not that weak, you know!"

"Well, according to the information I gathered, you never took any jobs, never fought with anyone, and were qualified to participate in the exam every year, but never passed the first part." Meredy said. "Apparently, you didn't even have any real friends in the guild, because no one ever got close to you. I thought you were too weak to be considered a true mage."

"It... It's because I wasn't really part of the guild! I'm not weak!"

Ultear started laughing.

"So weak..." she said.

"It's not funny! Lahar, tell them I'm strong!"

Lahar tried not to laugh as well.

"That's it! Show me your face and let's fight."

"Meredy, no!"

"It's okay, I can handle nineteenth easily," she said, taking her cloak off.

"Stop saying that! I'll show you I'm not nineteenth material..."

He stopped.

"You-"

"Maguilty Sodom!"

The attack hit Doranbolt, who was thrown a few meters behind.

"See?" Meredy said. "Told you he's weak!"

"He _is_, indeed..." Juvia said, sorry for him.

"I'm kinda disappointed..." Gray added.

"What's wrong, Doranbolt?" Lahar said, helping him get up.

Doranbolt looked at Meredy with mixed feelings.

"Me too," he said. "I know you too".

_**Seven years ago**_

"He said Acnologia..." Doranbolt thought. "What will I do?"

He was petrified. If he heard well – and he knew he did, even though he wanted to believe the contrary – whatever would happen between Fairy Tail and Grimoire Heart, even between them and Zeref, none of that would matter. Because they were all going to disappear.

At that moment, he felt so weak and useless that he hated himself. Hiding behind a tree, he hadn't even tried to save that blond-haired mage from Grimoire Heart, despite knowing what Zeref was about to do to him. Hopefully, the two girls were safe, as Zeref just said. Because if they were dead as well, Doranbolt wouldn't forgive himself.

He would try to stop Zeref before he left. He should.

"I'm going to stop him, right now," he thought. "Now."

But he couldn't move, and Zeref was soon out of sight.

"I can't stay here," he whispered, trying to ignore that guilt feeling that was growing inside of him.

He didn't want to move, because it would mean leaving them - Wendy, Natsu and the rest from Fairy Tail - behind. But he also knew he had to act quickly. A few minutes had passed, when one of the girls coughed.

"Shit! They're waking up!"

He looked carefully. Apparently, the pink-haired girl was the one who coughed. Without really thinking, he stood up, got closer and knelt down next to her. She was wearing a cloak with the symbol of Grimoire Heart on it.

"Ul..." she murmured, still unconscious.

Doranbolt saw some tears at the corner of her closed eyes.

"She's barely an adult, how could they make her join their guild?"

The world was full of sick people.

"I'll save you," he suddenly said decidedly.

He looked at the other girl. It was Juvia, the water mage from Fairy Tail. They were both soaked by the rain. He got up, took the pink-haired girl in his arms and carried her to put her down under a tree. Then he took her cloak, dried it using magic, and covered her with it. He did the same with Juvia, putting her down next to the other girl, and used the same cloak to cover them both. He looked at them for a while, a sad smile on his face.

"Don't be sad," he said to the younger one. "Stop crying. I'll come back."

And he left.

_**Back to year 791**_

But he hadn't come back. The fact is, once he talked to Lahar about the danger represented by Acnologia, he realized coming back was impossible. The black dragon of the Apocalypse could have come at any time, and not leaving would have led everybody on the ship to a certain death.

Since what happened with the Celestial Spirit mages, when he saved that girl who looked like Wendy, he almost managed to forgive himself. But this pink-haired girl of back then represented his incapacity to save Fairy Tail, and meeting her without being prepared made him feel consumed by guilt once again.

"Meredy, is that your name?"

She didn't answer. He didn't have the courage to look at her.

"You're right. I am weak."

Still no answer. The others didn't move, not knowing what was happening, why Doranbolt had silently surrendered.

"You're my weakness", he thought.

"Ugh..."

Doranbolt raised his head. Meredy was crying, to everybody's surprise.

"This must have been... snif... so hard..." she said, sobbing. "Feeling that guilt, for... for seven years..."

He looked at her, dumbfounded. How could she sympathize with him? But, more than that, how did she know about it? Was she able to dive into his thoughts, his memories? Without realizing it, he started to cry as well.

"Why am I..." he started to say. "Why am I crying right now? I'm familiar with that feeling, why is that..."

Why did it resurface as if it were the first time he was feeling it?

"You're sharing your emotions," Ultear explained.

She pointed at his hand. A seal, looking like a bracelet made of hearts, had appeared on his wrist. Meredy moved forward towards him. Once they were a few inches away, she looked up to him and caressed his cheek, wiping his tears.

"Don't be sad. Stop crying. We are fine, now!"

Meredy was still crying when she said that, but she looked at him with a big grin on her face. Doranbolt's heart skipped a beat. He smiled as well.

"Doranbolt."

It was Lahar, talking to him through telepathy. Doranbolt already knew what he was going to say.

"I'm not arresting them," he told Lahar outloud. "And if you want to, you'll have to defeat me first. Please," he added, looking at him. "In the name of our friendship."

Lahar didn't look surprised.

"I didn't take any risk to save them back then, and I'm still regretting it. I won't make that same mistake again."

He was desperate.

"You understand how serious the consequences will be, don't you?" Lahar whispered. "This conversation is recorded, and even if, by any chance, they didn't realize which guild those two are from, this is too suspicious. If we let them go, the guards will come right away."

Doranbolt was thinking very quickly. If they acted as if they were arresting them, would they have the time to escape later?

"Then take us," Meredy said.

"What? No! I don't want-"

"It's okay. We only have one request: we want to be judged by the King. Not by the Magic Council."

Doranbolt understood they had some ulterior motive. He didn't know what to do: letting them escape was one thing, but helping them achieve some plan that could endanger the people of Crocus was a different matter. However, he knew Crime Sorcière had not done anything to harm innocent people for the seven years that guild existed. He stared into Meredy's eyes, trying to tell her that he trusted her and that it would be okay.

"Then we will take you to Mercurius. Let's go."

* * *

**Hello everyone !**

First of all, thank you for the reviews ! It's great to see you like my story, because, as I said, I really enjoy writing and imagining the stories, and your reviews make me want to try harder !

It took me some time to finish that chapter because I didn't really know how to justify the fact that two guys from the Council could let Crime Sorcière escape, and then it hit me : why don't they arrest them anyway? So it changes what I imagined for the next chapters, but it's better this way (now that Ultear and Meredy are going to Mercurius, I don't need to make them stay with Gray and the others, and it's more logical to have them leave the competition).

This chapter is longer than the first two ones, and as I already said, this story was only supposed to deal with a particular pairing so it's only normal for me to write a longer one as it's the "original story", so the next ones could be shorter. According to the reviews, none of yoou had imagined Meredy x Doranbolt, I hope you still liked it, because I really find them cute, and even cuter together :3 I know there's no way it will happen in the manga, unless I have the same power of precognition as Carla... But still ! Two of you suggested Ultear x Lahar as a pairing, so it gave me some ideas, maybe I'll write a oneshot or include some parts about them later ^^ And as you seemed to like the piggyback ride, I added some Gruvia parts in this chapter (which partly explains why it's longer), also, you can still read my other fanfic about Gruvia "Let's make a wager" (I reaaaally like that couple).

I realize I'm too chatty, and the chapter was supposed to be less than 2000 words... Well, I'll just say this : as usual, don't forget the reviews, tell me if you have some suggestions, and more importantly, tell me if you liked Meredy x Doranbolt !


	4. Shadow

As Meredy and Ultear were arrested by the Council, Gray's group have to go back to the game. Meanwhile, Gajeel is face to face with someone he didn't expect to meet...

**.:: Disclaimer ::.**

I don't own Fairy Tail or that great manga's characters. Hiro Mashima, that crazy man who probably comes from another planet, does.

* * *

"I'm worried about them..." Juvia said.

Meredy and Ultear had accepted to leave with those two guys from the Council, but it didn't" mean they were safe.

"I don't trust that glasses guy.

"You shouldn't worry, they have a plan." Gray said.

But he couldn't help worrying as well. He felt useless, standing there, not knowing what to do, having let them leave without trying to stop them. And of course, he couldn't forget about Ultear's words. Were they all going to die?

"I hope Ul's daughter..." Lyon started to say. "Ul would have wanted us to help her, what would she say if she could see us?"

Gray understood what he meant.

"Then what do we do now?" he asked.

Everybody looked at each other for a long time, waiting for one person to make a move.

"Keep fighting."

Juvia and Gray shared a quick look. They had heard the same voice.

Mavis.

* * *

Gajeel was wandering around the town. Thanks to the commentator, he knew that the blond Dragon Slayer from Sabertooth was not involved in a battle yet. He was apparently hiding for some reason.

"Salamander got them both at once. I'll never hear the end of it if I don't defeat the other Dragon Slayer as well."

He was determined to find him.

"There you are."

Gajeel turned around to see who had just talked.

"L... Levy?"

She looked at him in a weird way and then threw herself in his arms.

"I was so worried!"

"But why did you come? It's not over, I still have to-"

"Why did you do that to me?"

Her voice was different. He looked down to see her face. Her eyes were full of reproach. Gajeel felt a weight in his chest.

"Why did you do that?" she repeated.

Then it hit him. A range of images and emotions crossed his mind. He could see her and his fellow team members unconscious on the ground. Then he saw himself carrying them and hanging them on a tree. He remembered her fragile and light body, so easy to bear on his shoulder. He hadn't been careful carrying her, although her body looked as if it could be broken easily. He didn't even know how many ribs he had broken, how many bruises he had left.

"I will never forgive you," Levy's voice said harshly.

The flow of images had stopped, but Gajeel still couldn't move. She was still holding him tightly, forcefully, with a strength he didn't know she had. But the most unusual about her was the look on her face. It was hard, transpiercing, and even if he wanted to avoid that look more than anything, he couldn't take his eyes off hers.

"Did you think you could join them and forget about me so easily?"

Her lips were still moving but the voice was not hers anymore.

He knew that voice.

"I made you, Gajeel."

He was starting to suffocate.

"So it was you..." Gajeel said.

Master Jose.

He managed to push Levy and she landed a few feet away, her head banging on a pillar. She got up and started talking with her own voice again.

"Really Gajeel? You're still hurting me like you did the first time. You'll never change."

"Get out of her body."

Levy started laughing hysterically. Gajeel could see it now: her body was envelopped in a dark aura like Rogue's was a few moments ago, during their match. He hadn't recognized the magic at that time but it was already obvious that the Dragon Slayer's body was possessed.

"What do you want?" Gajeel said angrily. "Get out, if you want to settle things with me, don't involve her."

"I'm afraid it's impossible, Gajeel-chan," she said, this time with Jose Porla's voice again.

"What is happening on Gajeel's side? Why is he facing a member of his guild? Is it some love quarrel they couldn't wait to settle?"

It was the commentator speaking. The public was following his 'match' against Levy possessed by his former guild master's shadow.

"I can't leave that delicious creature's body. I need her magic, even if I would have prefered a more powerful mage to use. But some little bird told me she can still be useful against you," Jose's voice said.

Gajeel couldn't stand seeing Levy's body used like that.

"Why are you doing that?" Gajeel asked.

"Well, I didn't really care about you and the others, when I was imprisoned. You see, I had others things in mind. But then I learnt you and that useless rain woman had joined the very same guild that disbanded ours. I felt really hurt, you know, Gajeel-chan. All your comrades, how could you do this to them, to all of us?"

"Tch."

Gajeel knew very well that the word 'comrade' never meant much to Phantom Lord. After all, he was one of the those who despised it.

"Of course, I would have tried to escape anyway, but when one of the guards talked about the members of Fairy Tail that 'came back to life' after seven years, saying that you and the rain woman were part of them, I thought the time to leave had come. That's when I arrived here."

"What do you mean? What are you, now? A ghost?"

"Not exactly, Gajeel-chan. I'm not dead. It turns out the only way to escape that prison cell was to leave my body there, but I still have hopes I will get it back eventually. Until that time comes, I can survive in this form. Those useless idiots from the Council don't know what happened to my body, haha! As I said, I can't use magic without someone's body. But in this form, I'm nothing but magic power. And when I possess a mage, my magic mixed with that person's power makes _us_ invincible, or so I thought, until you defeated that stupid brat."

"You're disgusting."

Jose ignored him.

"I really thought I could make something out of him. He wanted to defeat you so badly, I could give him the chance I didn't give him a few years ago. I'm not sure you remember, Gajeel-chan. After all, at that time, you didn't really care about anything but yourself."

"I remember," Gajeel said.

"Of course you do, Gajeel-chan," he answered in a soft voice. I had noticed how you had changed when that brat came into your life. Why do you think I decided to keep him away from you?"

"What did you tell him to make him leave?"

"Oh, things like 'Gajeel is using you', 'he'll never let you surpass him', 'one day you'll be strong enough but all he did was play around and you're still too weak to join the guild'... I didn't need a nice Gajeel in my guild, and eliminating that useless kid was the best way to keep a heartless Dragon Slayer at my disposal. Think about it: if I had let him join, do you think you would have been able to hurt a pure and defenceless mage like this blue-haired woman?"

Gajeel laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"It's not as if what I did helped you defeat Fairy Tail. And for your information, she's not defenceless. Not at all," he added, remembering the several times Levy had punched him.

"She's not? Then let's see!"

Levy – or rather Jose – started moving very fast, like Rogue did a few moments ago when he was also possessed. Gajeel tried to keep him away without hurting Levy but it was difficult, and he was soon on the ground, blocked by Levy's body who stabbed him with a shadow dagger.

"Payback for last time," Levy's voice said.

"Incredible!" the commentator said. "Gajeel, who has just defeated Sabertooth's Rogue, is now KO because of one of his guildmates? Isn't it against the rules, Yajima-san?"

"I don't know if it's against the rules, but I think he needs some help..."

Gajeel couldn't move. The shadow left Levy's body.

"So it was you," another voice said.

Gajeel turned his head with difficulty. Rogue had just arrived, followed by his Exceed. But he wasn't talking to him. Suddenly, Rogue transformed into a shadow as well, and followed Jose's shadow until the two combined. Then he turned into his human form back.

"You..." Gajeel started to say.

Rogue's face was the last thing he saw before he passed out.

* * *

"I can't believe it..." Shelia said.

She was barely walking, carrying Lyon who couldn't move anymore.

"And why am I carrying you? You're not even wounded, Lyon!"

She had dropped the honorific.

"N... naked..."

"Yes, I saw that," she said with a sigh.

"I couldn't do anything, she was... naked," Lyon repeated.

"If you had at least let me finish Gray off, he was as dumbfounded as you when Juvia took her clothes off! I could have won that fight! But you wouldn't move, and Juvia managed to defeat us both... Geez, hope Jura will get revenge for us."

"N... naked..."

They stopped when Shelia saw two people, one of them unconscious on the floor.

"Who's that? It's Fairy Tail, right?"

"Please, someone help us... He's bleeding and he's not breathing anymore..."

It was Levy, bending over Gajeel's body.

"You!" she said when she saw Shelia and Lyon. "You can heal him! Please!"

"What happened?" she asked while trying to heal Gajeel.

"I don't know, I don't remember, when I woke up, he was already like that..."

"Why isn't there any guard?"

"I think they are all in Mercurius right now... Is he okay? I don't know how much time passed, please tell me it's not too late..."

Shelia had used most of her magic, but she still managed to heal him. He opened his eyes. When he saw Levy who was crying and smiling at the same time, he let out a sigh.

"I was so afraid," she said. "I don't know what happened, why was I here?"

She tried to help him get up but he didn't let her touch him. She seemed a little hurt but she didn't flinch.

"It's Jose," he said, ignoring her. "But it's all right. Ryos, he took care of... Where is he?"

"Who?"

"Ry... The Shadow Dragon Slayer."

"I don't know, he wasn't there when I woke up. Maybe we should ask the judges, they probably saw everything, even if they didn't do anything to help us, those useless-"

"Hey! We didn't want to get involved in your lover's quarrel," the commentator said, making Levy blush.

"Did you say 'Jose' ?" she asked, trying to ignore Chapati Lola's remark. "You mean, your former guildmaster?"

"Yes, he took advantage of..." Gajeel started to say, but looked at her and stopped. "Well, never mind."

"What's wrong?"

He didn't answer, and just got up and left.

"You could at least thank me!" Shelia said. "I just saved your life, you know!"

But he was already out of sight.

* * *

**Hello guys!**

First, thanks for the reviews ^_^

It's already been one week since I last updated but I didn't stop writing, I needed some time before I'm sure about that version of the chapter, because I've been thinking about the end of my story so I didn't want any loophole in my fanfiction ^^ Anyways, new chapter very very soon ! As usual, don't forget the reviews, and don't hesitate to point out anything that seems weird, including grammar or spelling mistakes, but also things that don't seem clear in the story itself!

Double Cheese : I don't really know which one - the Council or the King's army - has more legitimity, that's an interesting question, I guess it's as you say : the Council administrates everything related to magic... But let's say that this time, as they are right next to Mercurius, it was relevant to have them deliver the prisoners to the King (at least, that's what Doranbolt will say to justify why he did that XD ). And I agree with you, the Council is usually useless, I really wonder how they can be unaware of something like Eclipse, but I guess that when they find out about it, with all the dragons threatening everyone, they'll just say "Wait, we just came here to catch Jellal!" Naah kidding they'd probably be among those who'll try to evacuate the town. Or evacuate themselves first, don't know yet.

PS : I love Gale, I already wrote a fanfic about them, and I just wanted to tell you that there are other more interesting Gale parts upcoming in my story. More importantly, I already wrote a flashback about Gajeel and Rogue, I loved writing it XD it was supposed to be in this chapter but it was too long (the chapter's already quite long imo) so I'm waiting for the right time to include that flashback, and I'm sure you'll like it (anything involving a little Rogue is something to look forward to, right?).


	5. My name is Ryos!

After his confrontation with Jose's shadow, Gajeel couldn't face Levy. He decides to leave and ends up meeting Rogue.

**.:: Disclaimer ::.**

I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.

* * *

"Shit, with all that crap, I almost forgot about the games..." Gajeel thought.

He felt guilty about letting Levy behind but he couldn't face her right now. Maybe he'd try to talk to her later. Or not.

He heard someone laugh.

"Oh, great, what now?"

It was Rogue.

"Ryos," Gajeel said.

Rogue seemed surprised to hear that name again.

"So did you manage to get rid of that shadow? And why were you laughing?" Gajeel asked.

"Well, I didn't think I would see it one day. The great Gajeel Redfox losing face in front of someone. A girl, what's more."

"Don't look down on her. She's tough. And you didn't answer my question, what happened to Master Jose? Did you really beat him?"

"I wouldn't have succeded if it were the real one. This time, I just needed to know the nature of his magic to annihilate it, because he didn't have all his power."

It seems it worked the same way as charm spells : whenever the mage realizes he was duped, like Rogue was when he was possessed, he could destroy that magic. It made sense, Gajeel thought.

"But if it were the real deal," Rogue continued, "If it was Jose Porla with all his abilities, not only his shadow, I guess only someone who holds the title of Magic Saint could have beaten him. You should watch your back when he's released from prison."

And Juvia too.

"You have grown up," Gajeel simply said.

He wasn't the nostalgic kind, but it was hard to believe that the man in front of him was the same kid he had met two years ago. Oh right, it was actually nine years ago.

"I didn't think you would remember about me," Rogue said.

Of course he did.

* * *

_**Year 782**_

"Tchh, I can't stand those idiots anymore."

Gajeel Redfox was sitting by a pond, chewing a piece of rusted iron he had found on the way from the guild, watching the frogs jump from one water lily to another. He didn't know how much time he had spent there since he joined Phantom Lord. But whenever he felt like he needed some time alone – usually because he was about to beat the crap out of his so called 'nakamas' – he came there to calm down.

"It's been five years already, huh."

He looked at the sky. Since Metallicana left, he wasn't used to being around people, and that didn't change when he joined the guild a few months ago. But as long as he wasn't with them all the time, he didn't need anything other than the money he got from the jobs he took.

"Those stupid brats who don't know anythi... What is that noise?"

Gajeel froze. Someone was coming. He wasn't ready to face people at that moment, he feared he may not be able to refrain from hitting another human. He hid behind a bush.

"Hope it's not the rain woman..." he thought.

The person was crying. It was probably that Juvia who had just joined the guild. When he wasn't the one leaving the headquarters to be alone, it was her. It wouldn't be the first time they ended up hiding at the same place. The last time, she had spent an hour crying, while he was next to her, not knowing what to do. He couldn't leave at that time – Metallicana wasn't what we call a 'gentleman', but he had taught him that a female's wrath was quite similar to a breath attack from a dragon, so even if he didn't care about getting along with the guys from the guild, he tried not to anger the women. But this time, she hadn't seen him so he decided he could silently leave.

"Here..." a voice said, sobbing. "You can come back to your home, and have some rest."

Gajeel turned around. It wasn't Juvia.

"Of course, it's not raining this time, I should have known it was someone else," he thought.

A little dark-haired boy, who wasn't more than ten years old, was sitting by the pond, a few feet away from where Gajeel had been some minutes ago. He had apparently dug a little hole in the dirty soil, and had put something in it. Now he was recovering the hole, still sobbing.

"I'm sorry, little frog," the boy whispered.

He gently patted the hump and staid there. Gajeel didn't move either until the boy stopped sobbing. Before he realized it, the boy stood up and saw him.

"Who... who are you?"

Gajeel could see the boy was afraid, and he was quite pleased with it: it was a proof he was still scary and hadn't softened up despite spending all that time with humans.

"I can use magic!" the boy said, trying to look threatening.

"Good for you," Gajeel mumbled, about to leave.

"Shadow Dragon's roar!"

Gajeel froze, once again. The attack reached him but he didn't even stagger.

"You are also a..."

The boy was shaking.

"I'm... I'm much stronger than that," the boy said. "It's just that now..."

Gajeel understood he was about to cry again. He didn't know if it was because it would have annoyed him to hear his cries, or if he _had _softened up, but he headed towards the pond, caught one of the frogs that were next to the edge, and, trying not to squeeze it too tightly, he gave it to the boy.

"I think they eat bugs, you can feed him with that," Gajeel said.

And then he left.

* * *

"Gajeel, who is that annoying bug following you?"

"What?"

Gajeel turned around. The dark-haired boy was there, the frog on his shoulder, smiling at him genuily. Ever since he met him a few days ago, he had been followed by him around the town. But it was the first time he had entered the guild.

"Oh crap," he thought.

If the others thought he was taking care of a kid, they would probably stop being scared of him.

"So it's true?" the boy asked. "You're Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer?"

The boy seemed amazed, which flattered Gajeel, even if he would have never admitted it.

"I'm also a Dragon Slayer!"

"What? This brat, a Dragon Slayer?" someone from the guild asked, doubtful.

"My name is Ryos, and I'm the Shadow Dragon Slayer!" he said proudly.

The guild members laughed.

"I don't care if you don't believe me!" the boy said, facing the others.

Gajeel thought he had some guts, standing up in front of a room full of mages. He liked it.

"Gajeel believes me, right?"

He turned towards Gajeel.

"I want to be your disciple."

Everybody laughed again, which annoyed Gajeel. He looked at the boy with threatening eyes. The boy cringed.

"I don't think you're ready for that," he said, smiling evily.

The boy was apparently thinking very fast. He was still scared but one second later, his expression changed, and became more determined. Everybody was waiting for Gajeel's answer.

Gajeel's smile widened.

"My name is Ryos," the boy repeated happily, mistaking Gajeel's smile for a sign of sympathy.

"I don't care about your name," he answered, leaving the room.

When he arrived at the door, he turned back, and addressed to the boy who hadn't followed him.

"What are you waiting for? Training starts right now."

* * *

"Are you crazy? I can't do that!" Ryos said, panting. "I'm gonna die!"

"You sure you were raised by a dragon?" Gajeel said with a smirk. "Because the dragon _I_ know wouldn't want to have you as a kid."

Ryos's expression darkened.

"Ouch! I thought we had taken a break!"

Gajeel had just hit him with another attack. They had been training for a week, and whenever he mentionned the dragons, Ryos would remain silent. The only way Gajeel found to break the silence was to use his fists.

And it worked.

"Dragons don't take breaks, brat."

Gajeel got near him, an evil expression on his face.

"You want to get stronger?"

Ryos stopped breathing, surprised by the proximity of such a source of evilness.

"Y... yes..."

"Then, you need to have a goal. When you reach it, find a new one. And so on. What is your goal, frog?"

"My... my name is Ry-"

"I don't care about your name."

"It's..."

Ryos closed his eyes and tried to gather some courage.

"My name is Ryos and my goal is to defeat you!"

"Good."

Ryos opened his eyes.

"Then you won't need to find a new goal for a long time."

* * *

It had been two weeks since they started training. His pupil was already quite strong for a kid his age, and Gajeel managed to increase his power. Lately, Ryos was even able to inflict some pain to his teacher with his attacks, but Gajeel didn't show it – he was quite pleased to see how much fear he could provoke and didn't want that to change.

"Gajeel, you idiot! I told you to stop doing that!"

"Who are you talking to like that?"

Gajeel arrived earlier that day, intending to attack Ryos by surprise to see if he could defend himself.

"Ah, you're here! I wasn't talking to you, it's the frog," Ryos answered, smiling brightly while showing him the frog Gajeel had given him the day they met. "I called him Gajeel, because he-"

Ryos's smile vanished when he saw his teacher's expression.

"I... I didn't mean to..."

"You think you can use my name like that?" he said, articulating each word in a menacing tone.

"He... he kinda looks like you..."

Gajeel punched him in the face, sending him flying.

"I don't mean that you look like a frog!" Ryos said, standing up, already prepared to fight.

"What could 'he looks like you' mean, then?"

They had started the training.

"He's my best friend, and you are my best friend too, so..."

Gajeel stopped for a second, which gave Ryos the time to attack him.

"Ouch!"

"Haha, gotcha!"

"Stupid..." Gajeel mumbled.

He got up and gave him a quick punch.

"You're still weak."

Ryos seemed annoyed.

"But you might be useful. I'm going tomorrow on a mission. A very dangerous one. You think you can handle it?"

"R... Really?"

Gajeel had never seen Ryos so happy.

"Don't think I'll be there to watch your ass, and don't think I'll give you half of the reward. You'll only have ten percent."

But he didn't seem to care.

"Then, it's settled. But first, you have to become a member of the guild, and for that, you have to ask Master Jose."

"Yes!"

An hour later, Gajeel was waiting for Ryos outside the guild. When he got out, the smile he had on his face all the way to the guild had disappeared.

"I am not a part of the guild," Ryos simply said. "Master Jose refused."

Then he looked at him coldly.

"Whether you think I'm strong or not doesn't matter. I won't be restrained by you anymore. I'm gonna be a part of the guild someday, and I will defeat you."

"What the..."

But Ryos left without further explanation.

* * *

_**Back to year 791**_

"You called me 'Ryos' earlier, you remembered my name," Rogue said.

"Well, you kept repeating it, I'm not dumb. What's with the 'Rogue' thing anyway? Why did you change your name?"

"I wanted to forget about that past."

Gajeel smirked.

"Which is _obviously_ the reason why your goal of beating me never changed, brat."

"I don't want to hear that from you," Rogue mumbled.

Gajeel wanted to ask how he had lived for the past few years, why such a cheerful boy could have become such a dark man. Was it because of Jose's words? Of Sabertooth?

"I've held a grudge against you for so many years," Rogue said as if he had guessed what Gajeel was thinking, "and my grudge intensified when I joined Sabertooth, a place where anything that can make you win a battle is welcome. Now I don't really know what to do now anymore. I failed, I didn't beat you. Is it the time for me to 'find a new goal'?"

"I'm not your teacher anymore, only you have the answer."

"Well, you were never a teacher, anyways. Or maybe you were, but a crappy one."

"How dare you..." Gajeel said, but he was smiling.

"I guess I was deceived by Jose twice - when I wanted to join Phantom Lord and just a few minutes ago. But it doesn't matter anymore."

Gajeel didn't say anything.

"Just so you know, I haven't given up on beating you," Rogue added.

His former teacher smiled again

"Bring it on whenever you want."

After a moment, Rogue decided it was time to leave. He started to walk away, but stopped after a few steps and looked back at Gajeel.

"Congratulations," he said. "It seems Fairy Tail is going to win."

* * *

**Hello everyone !**

I was supposed to update earlier but I was waiting for the last chapter (322) to be released, and I have a lot of work right now... About the chapter, don't know if you have read it and I don't want to spoil you, so I'll just say that I was waiting to know how the games would end before I decide what to do with my story. Except that if I do that, it's not funny anymore, and I will never finish it so you have to know that it will probably be different even if the plot is, at the beginning, the same as the real story. Anyway, it doesn't really matter ^^

More important : Thank you, all those who follow the story, I'll try my best not to disappoint you guys x) and thanks for the reviews, also!

To Double Cheese : about Jose's reappearance, I have to admit it's a theory I read somewhere on mangafox forum, but I was unable to find the post again... I found that theory plausible and interesting, because it would have enabled me to add a storyline about Juvia and Gajeel, but I didn't have the time to do so, maybe in another fanfic ^^ As for Levy in the arena, well... I counted on the fact that they are not in the arena anymore but in the whole city - as it was stated at the beginning of the last day - to make it plausible, even if _it's not_. It's difficult for me to think they evacuated the whole town for the games, so there could be people (but not Levy since she's cheering on FT) but it's still possible they did forbid anybody to be there because it's dangerous. Anyway, about Gale, it's not over yet, there'll be a part about them later ^^ Oh and it's always great to find out you took the time to leave a review, so thanks a lot for that ! PS : my crackpairing will be back as well, but I still need to find how to make Doranbolt and Lahar react about Eclipse...

To everybody : as usual, let me know if you like the story by posting a review, and tell me if you have some ideas about what will be next x)


	6. And the winner is

Home stretch of the GMG ! With Lamia Scale defeated, the last opponents Fairy Tail has to beat are Minerva and Sting from Sabertooth. We are finally about to know who will win ! Did future Lucy really tell the truth about the outcome of the games ?

Note : after having thought about it for a while, I decided not to be influenced by the manga chapters, so from now on, this story (which I wrote before the last chapters came out) will completely differ from the original.

**.:: Dislaimer ::.**

I don't own Fairy Tail, fortunately because if I did, it would be totally messed up XD Hiro Mashima does.

* * *

"Gajeel is still up! Incredible, he was down but now he's all right thanks to Shelia-tan!" Chapati Lola said.

"Well, it seems that team Fairy Tail is still in competition -kabo," the pumpkin said.

"But isn't that against the rules? He was down, right now, shouldn't he be eliminated? What do you think, Yajima-san?"

Yajima took a very massive book that was apparently at his feet.

"Well... Apparently," he said, flipping through the pages of the book, "the rules say that if one of the competitors is rendered unable to fight because of an exterior event or person, but manages to get back on his feet before the end of the game, still thanks to an exterior event or person – and not to one of his teammates – then he can still be considered in competition."

"I should have read the rules..." Chapati Lola said. "Then it's settled! Go for it, Gajeel-tan!"

"Gajeel-tan..?"

* * *

"Apparently, there's only you and that White Dragon Slayer left," Erza said.

Minerva didn't seem to care.

"Do not think you will defeat us easily, Titania."

"Oh, I never said it would be easy. I know you trust your guild's strength, but so do I. My family will never give up."

Minerva laughed.

"You say 'family'? I never said I trusted them. Neither did I mention a bond such as 'family'. Weaklings don't belong in my guild. Fortunately, I am still here, and so is Sting. I would not say he's stronger than the rest of us, but he is right now experiencing what you seem to constantly rely on. 'The power of feelings', is that so? The loss of his best friend can be useful to my future guild that will be purified from those who are weak. I can use him the way I want. But if he proves to be unworthy of the name of Sabertooth when the death of his little cat is revealed, I will have to eliminated him as well."

"The death of... What do you mean?"

"They are called Exceeds, aren't they? That useless blue cat is one of them as well. My father killed Sting's Exceed. And I used that as an opportunity to increase his power. I made it so that he thinks the cat is still alive."

Erza couldn't believe her ears. She knew mages from some other guilds didn't have the same relationships as they did in Fairy Tail, but that woman was the worst.

"You say those who are not as strong as you don't belong in your guild? But how can you know about something like that? _You_ don't belong in a guild at all. And defeating you will be all the more satisfying."

She charged, but something happened before she could reach Minerva with her sword.

Minerva was on the ground. Defeated.

"What the..."

Then she saw him. Sting Eucliffe was before her eyes, crying.

"You heard everything," Erza simply said.

She was feeling sorry for him, but still on guard.

"I should have known. I'm so stupid..."

"No, it's not stupidity," Erza said. "It's hope, and that's something we all need to be able to live in this world."

"I just wanted my friend back... my only friend..."

He fell on his knees.

"I... I don't want to fight anymore. I give up."

They remained silent for a while.

"You may think it's over," Erza finally said, "but you'll find a reason to live. You have to, because your friend, even if he's not there anymore, wouldn't want you to stop hoping. Someday, when you think about him, it won't hurt anymore. Don't try to forget in order to feel better now, because when that day comes, you'll want to have good memories to remember about when you miss him."

She thought about her parents, about Simon. Also about Jellal, even if he was still there. Sting looked at her.

"I'm tired," he said. "I did everything for the sake of fighting, and the only thing that made me happy was sharing it with him. I dropped everything else. Now, I don't have anything left to hold on to."

"Fro doesn't think so."

Frosch and Rogue had just arrived. Frosch seemed sad but he was smiling.

"I lost a friend too. I feel lonely now that Lector isn't there."

"I did too," Rogue said. "But he was not your only friend. We all are. We thought that friends didn't matter, but we didn't know it was already part of us. I learnt it the hard way, and you did too. Let's live on, Sting. Like Lector would want us to."

Rogue stretched his hand and after a second of hesitation, Sting took it.

* * *

"What an incredible twist! Minerva defeated by her own teammate!" Chapati Lola said. "What will we do about the points?"

"Moreover, Sting just gave up," the pumpkin said.

"What?"

"He said so himself, 'I give up', right now", the pumpkin continued. "So if we summarize, Sting won five points by defeating Minerva, which makes 60 points for Sabertooth. And since Laxus beat Jura, and Juvia beat Shelia and Lyon from Lamia Scale, Fairy Tail currently has 58 points. However, we can't say Sabertooth is the winner."

Everybody seemed lost.

"Well, it's true, but what about Minerva, and the points you're talking about?"

"It's the rules," Yajima confirmed. "Even if one of the competitors is defeated by his guildmates, the points still go to its team. I'm just quoting the rules, but I don't agree with it because it encourages fights among members of the same team."

"Yes, I remember that rule," Chapati Lola said, pensive. "It's not that bad, because in a real battle, if you have to eliminate one of your guildmates to protect the rest of them, it can be a relevant strategy. However, this rule doesn't apply if the last competitors left are members of the same team, because it would be easy to defeat your own leader to get five points once everybody's out, if you realize you don't have enough points left to win."

The audience seemed lost, some of the people wondering what was happening. Most of them didn't have a clue about those rules, but all of them wanted to know who won, now that Fairy Tail was the last team in competition.

"However, since Sting just gave up, the only competitors still fighting are Fairy Tail!" Chapati Lola said. "It's incredible, for the first time, we have all the members from one guild who haven't lost a match, but they still don't have enough points! We had never faced such an outcome, what are we going to do?"

"Well..." the pumpkin said.

He started to take his pumpkin head off.

"What are you doing? Your head, it's... A helmet?"

"A mask..." Yajima said.

"I have the honnor to announce the winners for the Grand Magic Games," said the pumpkin, but everybody could see he was actually a little old man.

"It's... The King!"

"And for the first time in seven years, we have two winners," the King continued, "Fairy Tail and Sabertooth! I will be more than pleased to welcome the winning teams in my castle, tomorrow, the 7th of July, in honour of the winning teams!"

"I... I guess that's it for today..." Chapati Lola finished.

* * *

"Why would I lie to you, Arcadios?"

Arcadios remained silent. There was something fishy. The only information he had about that girl from the future was what the princess had told him. But that girl's version was different. Either that girl was lying to her friends, or Hisui had lied to him. Who should he believe?

"You're the only one I trust, and I thought you trusted me as well," the princess said.

She didn't seem hurt, but Arcadios knew it was because she was used to not showing her emotions.

"That girl wouldn't endanger her friends, so I don't see why she would have lied to them," he said.

"Unless lying to them was the only way to protect them. But it doesn't matter anymore. Because now, we know that she cannot be trusted."

"What do you mean?"

"The 'incredible outcome' of the Grand Magic Games she predicted," Hisui explained. "I was waiting for the end of the Games to know whether I could trust her or not, to see if that outcome she talked about would happen as she said, and make sure the appropriate action is taken. But did you hear that, Arcadios?"

Arcadios suddenly realized, the words of the King who had just pronounced the names of the winners echoing in his mind.

"Both Sabertooth and Fairy Tail won the games."

That girl was lying.

* * *

**Ohayou minna-san !**

I'm glad I finally updated the story, the decision was difficult because I'm not satisfied with this chapter, especially the parts about the rules (by the way, I hope what I wrote was clear enough :/ ) but I needed to post that chapter to continue writing the story and provide the upcoming more interesting moments ! I was waiting for the last chapters from the manga to come out to know if I should adapt or not, but in the end, I didn't change anything (so yes, I "predicted" Sting would give up but not for the same reasons at all... whatever)

For once, the chapter is not too long, at least I hope so. I already wrote the next one, I'll update as soon as possible ^^

Don't forget the reviews, onegai shimasu !


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